Spindle whorl retainer



March 14, 1950 F. H. SWEET SPINDLE WHORL RETAINER Filed Jan. 10, 1949 y N 0 m mflmn H D v, I] L m F ,3. 1 5

Patented Mar. 14, 1950 SPINDLE WHORL RETAINER Floyd H. Sweet, Euclid, Ohio, assignor to The Marquette Metal Products Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application January 10, 1949, Serial No. 70,063

Claims. 1

The invention relates to an improvement in plunger type whorl retainers for textile mill spindles.

An object is to provide a plunger type whorl retainer assembly for spindles, so arranged that, in event of loosening of the assembly as by excessive or long-continued vibration of the machine served by the spindle or in event of improper mounting of the retainer, no part of the latter can interfere with or damage the driving band.

Another object is to provide a spindle whorl retainer of the spring latch plunger type which will be certain of operation to retain the whorl, yet always capable of easy manual operation to release the whorl when desired.

Another object is to provide a plunger type retainer capable of being economically manufactured and easily and quickly assembled and mounted; and which, when properl mounted, will be certain to remain an integral part of the spindle bolster or support notwithstanding subjection to continuous vibrations during the working life of the spindle assembly.

Another object is to provide an improved, spring-biased plunger type whorl retainer device wherein the plunger, its releasing means and the spring comprise, with a supporting body or housing therefor, a unitary, self-contained permanent assembly.

Further objects and novel features will be made apparent in the following description.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a spindle and bolster assembly with the present whorl retainer mounted on the bolster case; Fig. 2 is a relatively enlarged central sectional assembly view of the whorl retainer and associated portions of the supporting bolster case and spindle whorl, and Fig. 3 is a further enlarged central sectional view of one of two lock washers of a known design but especially adapted to serve in connection with the present invention.

The illustrated spindle assembly has a bolster case i with amounting flange 2 thereon preferably formed of two stampings 3 and 4 which are made integral with the bolster case as by brazing. The screw threaded portion 5 of the case is secured conventionally to part of the frame of the textile machine served, or to a bracket thereon, by a suitable nut (not shown) engaging the threads. A bolster-bearing-supporting portion 6 of the bolster case extends upwardly into the whorl l which is rigid with the live spindle 01' blade assembly 8. The whorl always has a lower band guiding or supporting flange 9 in approximately the illustrated position. An upstanding bracket portion [0 of the upper bolster flange stamping 3 extends fixedly in parallel, spaced relationship to the bolster bearing portion 6 of the bolster case; and the bracket portion [0 has parallel planar surfaces 12 and I3 around an opening or bore [4 therethrough, the axis of which intersects the band-engaging surface of the whorl.

Referring particularly to Fig. 2, the whorl retaining latch bolt or plunger 20 has a relatively enlarged cylindrical portion 2| preferaby having a rounded and/or conical inner end 2| (toward the whorl l), the portion 2| being smooth and easily slidable 'in 'a mounting and bearing sleeve 22, extending through the opening [4 of the bracket It and which may be fastened securely therein if desired as by a press fit, brazing or welding operation. However, for unitary replacement purposes' (since the retainer assembly if damaged as by careless attendants should usually be entirely replaced) the securing means for the sleeve 22 is as shown in the drawing and described below.

The sleeve 22 is of such length as to provide the only bearing for the plunger 20, being ample in that respect as illustrated. The sleeve length.

usually is limited by the distance between the bracket [0 and bolster bearing portion 6 of the bolster case (but only in event the plunger sleeve 22 is desired to be assembled on the bracket I6 after the bolster flange 2 is fixed to the bolster case). The sleeve 22 has a circular flange 23 for operative abutment with the supporting bracket It! as through the intermediary of an internally toothed (ratchet type) locking washer 24 (see Fig. 3) which very strongly resists turning of the sleeve in one direction assuming its flange is maintained or being forced with reasonable tightness toward the bracket. The sleeve is externally threaded at 25 outwardly from the bracket If).

The sleeve 22 is held in place by a hollow cylindrical nut or cap 26 engaging the sleeve thread 25 and which (together with the plunger 20, a releasing disc or hand piece 21 thereon and a permanently strained plunger-operating spring 28) forms a self-contained unitary and snug subassembly 30.

The plunger 29 has a reduced diameter portion 29 extending loosely through the spring and an opening 26' of the cap, being then further reduced at 32 adjacent a shoulder 32' on the plunger for attachment to the disc 21. The reduced end is permanently secured in the disc 21 as by being riveted over as shown at 33. The circular disc posed cylindrical surfaces of the disc 21, cap 26 and sleeve 22 are smooth so as most effectively to be kept clean and to shed lint.

The sub-assembly or un.t 39 comprising the plunger 23, cap 2%, disc 27 and the spring 2-8,

which latter is properly preloaded when the riveting-over is done at 33, is screwed tightl into place on the sleeve threads 25 as by an air-chucktype wrench engaging the smooth periphery of I th cap 25; the tightening operation forcing the inner rim of the cap against a ratchet type inter nally toothed lock ring or washer 34 identical with the loci; washer 2d. The tightening operation squeezes the respective lock washers against the associated surfaces including those of the bracket iii indicated at i2 and is and permanently locks all the parts in operating position.

The teeth 35 (Fig.3) of the lock washers 24 and 35 normally protrude beyond both, side faces of each washer; and, by indenting or digging into the associated surfaces, ver effectively prevent relative rotation of the threaded-together parts by vibration in the unscrewing direction. The lock washer i l, incidentally, makes it unnecessary to hold the sleeve 22 as by a wrench against turning while forcing the cap 26 against its lock washer 34.

During assembly of the plunger and'cap unit 3) into final position as described above, the plunger 2d ma very easily be inserted into the guiding bore of the sleeve 22 notwithstanding slight misalignment of the unit and sleeve. The rounded nose 2 l of the plunger serves to pilot the plunger easily into the guide bore of the sleeve; and then, as the cap is moved to bring the attaching screw threads into contact, the loaded spring 28 by yieldingly maintaining abutment'of'the disc 2'! with the adjacent end of the cap 26 operatively aligns the screw threads to avoid attempted mismating or cross threading. a

In event of the whorl retainer assembly becoming loose, as by reason of carelessness exercised in originally seating the cap 25 during the mounting operation, the flange 23 of the sleeve 22 cannot come into'contact with the driving band of the spindle, being stopped by the lower whorl flange 9 which the latch plunger portion 2! nor mally overhangs to retain the whorl. The latch plunger itself cannot come into contact with the band because. an loosening of the described threaded connection tends to move the latch plunger farther away from the whorl. In other words, the unit 353 can become completely disconnected from the sleeve 22, in which case it would fall away where it could do no harm, still without releasing the sleeve 22 and permitting it to fall out of position toward the whorl so long as the spindle blade and whorl unit is in operating position.

I claim:

1. A retainer for a textile mill spindle whorl having a band-contacting portion and a flange therebelow; said retainer comprising a sleeve adapted to be secured in fixed position on a spindle bolster case, with the bore of the sleeve in alignment with said band-contacting portion above theflange, and a self-contained complev mentary unit comprising a spring biased latch plunger, a tubular housing therefor and a plunger releasing element outside the housing and per- 'manently'connected to the plunger, the housing V .the'retainer comprising a bracket rigidly suph ported by the bolster case and disposed beside the whorl, said bracket having an opening therethrough in alignment with the whorl above its flange, a sleeve extending through the opening and having a shoulder portion for operative locating engagement with the bracket on the side thereof adjacent the whorl, a latch plunger extending through the bore of the sleeve and wholly guided thereby for sliding movement toward and away from: the whorl, a hollow cap'telescoping the sleeve and having a centrally apertured end wall through which a releasing stem'portion of latch'plunger' extends, a coil spring around the stem portion bearing on a shoulder of the plunger at one .end and on the inside wall of. the cap at the other, a manipulator head permanently secured to the stem outside the cap'and permanently maintaining some axial strain on the spring, the relatively telescoping portions of the sleeve and cap being screw threaded together and locked against unthreading.

contacting surface and a flange, a whorl retainer carried by a bracket portion of the bolster case and comprising a sleeve detachably extending through an opening in the bracket portion aligned with said whorl surface, a rim portion of thesleeve being allowed with the whorl flange whereby to prevent the sleeve from engaging said band-contacting surface ora'band thereon, and a spring biased latch plunger unit carried by the sleeve and having a latching portion extending therethrough. and guided therebyso as normally to overhang the whorl flange. h

i. A retainer for a textile mill spindle whorl having a flange, said retainer comprising a fixed supporting bracket having a. hole tlierethrough with its axis intersecting the whorl above its flange, a sleeve detachably extending through the hole and having an enlargement providing a shoulder operatively engaging the bracket on the sidethereof toward the whorl, a portion or said enlargement being aligned with the'whorl flange in adirection paral el with the axis of the sleeve,

a spring biased plunger guided by the sleeve and extending therethrough with a latching and prov jecting normally over the whorl flange, a tubular housing for the opposite end of the plunger, said housing being screw threaded to the sleeve and operatively abutting the opposite side of the bracket, the plungerhaving a releasing steinpor No references cited.

Certificate of Correction March 14, 1950 Patent No. 2,500,717

FLOYD H. SWEET It is hereby certified that errors appear in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows:

Column 4, line 42, for the word allowed read aligned; line 60, for latching and read latching end; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with these corrections therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 13th day of June, A. D. 1950.

THOMAS F. MURPHY, 

